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Dauphin Island Airport is set in a salt water marsh in which may be found Clapper Rail (common), Virginia Rail and Sora are fairly common(fall and winter), though secretive. Yellow Rail is very rare in winter as is Black Rail most of the year. Nelson’s and Sharp-tailed Sparrows may be seen in the grasses on […]

Claiborne Lake Dam Site East Park’s 500 acres contain a variety of habitats. The area near the entrance is loblolly pine plantation. Park at the Alabama River Museum and bird the edges of the pines. Summer Tanagers, Pine Warblers, Indigo Buntings, and Eastern Bluebirds are spring and summer regulars. Purple Martins, Northern Rough-winged and Barn […]

The 83,000 acres of the Conecuh National Forest house scores of Red-cockaded Woodpecker colonies and hundreds of Bachman’s Sparrows in the pine forests. You’ll find breeding Anhingas, Purple Gallinules, Common Moorhens, King Rails, and Least Bitterns in its wetlands, and Swallow-tailed Kites and Painted Buntings thinly scattered throughout the forest. Packed with breeding birds and […]

Landmark Park is a 135-acre park built to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of southeast Alabama’s Wiregrass Region. For nature-lovers, walks around the elevated boardwalk and nature trails, planetarium shows, and wildlife exhibits offer ways to explore science and nature. Birding opportunities can be found throughout the park, which has three major sections: the […]

The James D Martin Heronry Overlook provides a rare opportunity to observe an active heron rookery, without risking disturbance to the colony. Located at the southernmost edge of James D. Martin Wildlife Park, the heronry is protected from disturbance by its location on a small island in an extensive backwater of Neely Henry Lake, on […]

Ten Islands Historical Park, on the shores of Neely Henry Lake just above the dam, offers first-rate birding. Though the park itself is small, there is a vast amount of excellent habitat here – the entrance road provides shoreline access to deep water, pullout areas to check grassy edges and early second-growth pines. There is […]

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Tuskegee National Forest is the nation’s smallest in the national forest system. At 11,252 acres, it is small enough to survey in a day, yet large enough to contain a remarkable variety of habitats. Much of the land is in various stages of early to late second-growth forest, cut through with good roads and extensive trails. Look for scrub and grassland birds in the cutovers, riparian birds in the flood plains, and woodland species along the trails.

The Phenix City Riverwalk in Russell County snakes along the banks of the Chattahoochee River for almost 1.25 miles as it traces the Alabama-Georgia state line. Follow the elevated boardwalks and the paved walkways and seize the opportunities to trek down to the river’s edge or to scramble over a boulder field. The woods here – largely mature hardwoods with varying amounts of understory -- are rife with riparian-forest songbirds. Look for waders and swallows over the river, with some gulls and the odd tern in winter. As this site requires no less than a 2 1/2 – mile walk, expect to spend a short half-day to cover most if not all of the trail. If pressed for time, spend 1-1 ½ hours birding the southern portion from the entrance near the Ampitheatre to the 13th St bridge and back.

Lake Livingston in Sumter County and the system of nearby trails constitute one of southwest Alabama’s most outstanding birding sites. The 54-acre lake attracts waders, swallows (warmer months) and some waterfowl (colder months). The extensive series of trails pass along the lake’s banks, through mature forest, by second-growth and scrub, and eventually through wonderfully restored Black Belt prairie grasslands. This unmatched variety of habitats provides for a long list of birds. There is potential for a series of lengthy hikes here. A half day is a short visit; it would be easy to spend a full day and never get bored.

Alabama’s Birding Trails

The eight Alabama Birding Trails unify existing and potential birding sites into a series of cohesive trails collectively marketed as part of a state-wide system. The Alabama Birding Trails offers a chain of eight geographic regions with 270 sites covering our great state from the the mountains to the gulf. Get out and explore!